Is It Value It? (2026)

Final up to date: 2026 | This put up accommodates affiliate hyperlinks. If you enroll through my link and use the code FITNESSISTA, you’ll rise up to $250 off and I could earn a fee at no additional value to you.

Hiiii buddies! I hope you had an exquisite weekend and that you simply’re having fun with the morning. At present I needed to speak about one in all my favourite matters: IHP.

When you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, you understand that I’ve spent years constructing out my vitamin and health teaching apply and that I’m somebody who genuinely loves studying. I’ve collected a whole lot of certifications through the years (Precision Diet, NASM Private Coach, Weight Loss Specialist, Girls’s Health Specialist, Corrective Train Specialist, 200-hour yoga RYT, and extra), and each has added one thing significant to the best way I work with shoppers.

However there was all the time a niche.

Working with vitamin shoppers on-line, I stored working into conditions the place I knew one thing deeper was happening – a hormonal imbalance, a intestine situation, a mineral deficiency – and all I may do was refer out. Suggesting particular labs or deciphering take a look at outcomes is just not inside the scope of apply for a vitamin coach or private coach. I’d added different practitioners to my crew who may run these checks, however as my on-line apply grew, I needed to have the ability to do that work myself.

That’s what led me to the Integrative Well being Practitioner (IHP) certification, and after finishing each Degree 1 and Degree 2 (over 100 hours of coursework, persevering with training, and a few very difficult checks later), I can provide you a radical, trustworthy image of what to anticipate.

Eager about Enrolling? Start Here.

Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Degree 1, or $250 off each ranges.

IHP Certification Assessment: What I Realized, What It Prices, and Is It Value It (2026)

What Is the IHP Certification?

The Integrative Health Practitioner certification was created by Dr. Stephen Cabral, a Board Licensed Physician of Naturopathy, founding father of EquiLife and the Integrative Well being Practitioner Institute, and writer of the worldwide bestseller The Rain Barrel Impact. (When you haven’t learn it but, get it. It’s free!) After practically 20 years, over 600,000 pages of analysis, dozens of certifications within the pure well being area, and over 1 / 4 of one million non-public consumer classes…. Dr. Cabral is the true deal.

I’d been following him on Instagram for a few years and had him as a visitor on the podcast earlier than I enrolled. Once we wrapped up the podcast, I knew I needed to be taught as a lot as I may from him, and when the partnership got here collectively, I took it as an indication that the timing was lastly proper.

This system is constructed on 7 integrative disciplines:

Ayurvedic drugs – the science of life and body-typing

Bioregulatory drugs – the science of self-healing and rebalancing

Chinese language drugs and herbalism – unlocking nature’s therapeutic knowledge

Japanese philosophy – utilizing the thoughts to heal the physique

Conventional naturopathy – “proper residing” to reverse sickness

Orthomolecular drugs – nutritional vitamins and minerals as drugs

Purposeful drugs – state-of-the-art lab testing to uncover underlying root causes

All the things is taught by Dr. Cabral himself, and I genuinely loved the best way he presents complicated info, making it accessible and straightforward to implement. His real-world medical expertise is invaluable, and it comes via in each lesson.

The Two Ranges: What’s the Distinction?

IHP Degree 1: The DESTRESS Protocol

Level 1 focuses on Dr. Cabral’s DESTRESS methodology: a root-cause life-style framework constructed round Food plan, Train, Stress administration, Toxin elimination, Relaxation, Emotional steadiness, Supplementation, and Success mindset.

Every lesson runs about half-hour, and Dr. Cabral consists of prompt studying, complementary podcast episodes, and tons of client-ready handouts and sources all through. The complete Degree 1 course can take round 6 months relying in your tempo. It’s tremendous complete.

I cherished Degree 1. I discovered myself studying one thing worthwhile from each single lesson. Nevertheless it’s the big-picture basis and it builds your framework and vocabulary. The appliance actually is available in Degree 2.

Need the total breakdown? Learn my full IHP Level 1 review here.

IHP Degree 2: Purposeful Labs

That is the place issues received actually thrilling for me. Throughout every module I stored pondering: that is precisely what I need to be taught. That is how I need to assist my shoppers.

Level 2 is sort of solely targeted on purposeful drugs labs. You discover ways to advocate particular residence lab checks, analyze outcomes, and recommend motion plans primarily based on what you discover.

Right here’s what’s lined:

Meals Sensitivity Testing: IgG reactions to 190 meals on a scale from not vital to excessive. These are sensitivities (not allergy symptoms) and might present up as complications, joint ache, pores and skin rashes, poor temper, and extra.

Parasite and Micro organism Stool Testing:  key intestine micro organism and parasite markers related to mind fog, low power, physique ache, and complications.

Natural Acids (OAT): an analysis of intestinal yeast and micro organism that may contribute to fatigue, conduct points, immune dysfunction, and extra. Many individuals with power sickness and neurological points present up right here. I run this take a look at with shoppers nearly each single day.

Omega-3 Testing – your Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio, which has actual implications for coronary heart well being, irritation, temper, power, pores and skin, and muscle and joint ache. (Enjoyable reality: analysis reveals that when Omega-3 ranges within the blood attain 9% or extra, the danger of sudden cardiac demise drops dramatically. That alone was eye-opening.)

Adrenal Hormone Testing – estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol patterns all through the day.

Thyroid Adrenal Hormone Testing – provides testosterone, DHEA, thyroid markers (T4, T3, TSH, TPO antibodies), insulin, A1C, and vitamin D. Weight reduction has way more to do with hormone steadiness and metabolism than most individuals notice.

HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Evaluation) – a foundational lab utilizing only a hair pattern that appears at mineral ranges, electrolytes, and poisonous heavy metals, and provides perception into how your physique is responding to emphasize and whether or not you’re a sluggish or quick oxidizer.

Be aware: these labs usually are not supposed to diagnose, stop, deal with, or remedy any illness, however they supply extremely particular and actionable details about your particular person physique. I really love this side of the labs; we’re in search of underlying imbalances however nothing scary.

About two-thirds of the best way via Degree 2, I spotted that if I stored attempting to grasp each module earlier than transferring on, I’d by no means end, since you may truthfully spend a lifetime going deep on any one in all these checks. One of the best ways to essentially be taught this materials is to do it: learn actual outcomes, re-watch the related module as you undergo every marker, and preserve layering in podcasts, books, and persevering with training. That’s nonetheless how I strategy it.

For the total Degree 2 breakdown, learn my IHP Level 2 review here

How A lot Does the IHP Value?

Pricing can change, so I all the time advocate checking present enrollment particulars instantly.

That stated:

Degree 1 is the lower-cost entry level, with fee plan choices accessible

Each ranges collectively is the place the larger funding (and larger low cost) is available in. I feel that Degree 2 is ABSOLUTELY price it. (Value saying right here that I’m at present working my approach via Degree 3 and loving each second)

Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Level 1, or $250 off both levels

IHP additionally periodically runs enrollment specials, so it’s price conserving a watch out if timing is an element for you.

For context on worth: the purposeful lab coaching alone – one thing only a few coach-level certifications supply at this depth – would value considerably extra if pursued via particular person programs or medical coaching packages.

What I Truly Love In regards to the IHP Program

It fills an actual hole in conventional well being teaching. As a vitamin coach and private coach, there’s a tough ceiling on how deep you’ll be able to go together with shoppers. The IHP certification – particularly Degree 2 – gave me instruments to truly get to root causes, not simply supply common life-style steerage.

Dr. Cabral is genuinely one of many good ones. When you comply with him on Instagram or take heed to his podcast, you already know this. He’s extremely educated, however you can too simply inform that he’s a genuinely good one who actually desires to assist individuals heal. That comes via in each lesson.

The assist construction is superb. There’s a non-public Fb group for IHP candidates and authorized practitioners, reside Zoom Q&A calls, and – for Degree 2 graduates who full a further mentorship program – they’ll even refer shoppers to you instantly. The handouts and sources are one other enormous plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal apply, which makes it straightforward to begin implementing with shoppers straight away.

Self-paced with lifetime entry. No cohort deadlines to emphasize over. You possibly can transfer rapidly when life permits and decelerate when it doesn’t. (For this reason it’s taken me 18 years to finish Degree 3 lol.) They’re additionally continually including new modules, handouts, and content material to the platform.

You don’t want a well being background to begin. Now we have IHPs who fully modified careers due to this program, and in addition bodily therapists, nurses, medical doctors, private trainers, and dental professionals. It actually spans backgrounds.

The mission behind it’s lovely. The thought is that you simply heal your self after which go on to heal others. That’s one thing I consider in fully, and it’s been additional significant to me as I’ve been alone therapeutic journey.

What I’d Inform You to Know Going In

The teachings require your full consideration. This was my solely actual frustration: Dr. Cabral goes into a whole lot of info (much more so in Degree 2), and I felt like I wanted to be at my desk taking notes, not listening on a stroll or throughout a commute. The upside is it forces you to truly take in the fabric, however you’ll be able to’t blast via it as rapidly as you would possibly need to.

It’s not a medical credential. The IHP doesn’t provide the authority to diagnose, deal with, or prescribe. That is true of all well being teaching certifications, and it’s one thing to go in figuring out. You’re working inside the scope of a well being practitioner, which remains to be significant and impactful; it’s only a totally different lane than drugs.

You’ll must buy your individual insurance coverage after Degree 2. Most grads undergo an organization like Different Steadiness. It’s pretty straightforward to arrange, but it surely’s an ongoing value to issue into your planning. (I feel I pay about $160/yr)

It takes actual time. Degree 1 usually takes round 6 months; Degree 2 can take 6 months to a yr. There’s no shortcut, and truthfully, that’s applicable for the quantity of fabric lined.

Is the IHP Value It in 2026?

For me, 10000% sure.

I need to be trustworthy about why, although. I got here to this already working within the well being area, with a particular hole I wanted to fill and a real ardour for such a work. IHP stuffed that hole. I’ve been in a position so as to add a brand new layer to my 1:1 teaching, work with relations and buddies utilizing these instruments, and deepen my very own therapeutic course of with information I didn’t have earlier than. (The timing was additional significant for me personally. Coping with some surprising well being problems with my very own made the purposeful lab materials really feel extremely related.)

I’ve additionally been the one who was advised “nothing is unsuitable” or “you’ll simply should reside with it” by a number of physicians. I do know firsthand how a lot it issues to have somebody in your nook who thinks in root causes, who doesn’t quit on you when normal labs look “regular.” That’s the type of practitioner I need to be, and IHP gave me actual instruments to get there.

When you’re a well being skilled in search of one other technique to serve your shoppers, or for those who’re somebody who desires to heal your self after which assist the individuals round you, I genuinely can’t advocate this program sufficient. I’d do each ranges, particularly if purposeful labs are your objective. That’s the place the true magic occurs.

Try the IHP program and use code FITNESSISTA for as much as $250 off

I solely advocate packages I’ve personally accomplished and consider in. Enrolling via my hyperlink helps this weblog at no additional value to you.

Fast FAQs

Do I would like a well being background to enroll?

Nope! This system is open to everybody: profession changers, well being professionals, and genuinely curious individuals alike.

Can I simply do Degree 1?

Sure. Degree 1 is its personal certification. But when purposeful lab work is your objective, you’ll need each ranges. I’d begin with Degree 1 to ensure the fabric resonates, then proceed to Degree 2. (If you are going to buy each on the identical time, the pricing is best, although.)

How lengthy does it take to complete?

Degree 1 is usually round 6 months at a cushty tempo; Degree 2 is analogous or a bit longer. There’s no time restrict, so you’ll be able to go at no matter tempo works on your life.

What can I really do with this certification?

You possibly can add purposeful well being teaching to your current apply, create new 1:1 or group choices, use it to deepen your individual private well being information, and contribute to content material you create. Degree 2 graduates even have the choice to obtain consumer referrals via the IHP community.

Is there neighborhood assist when you’re going via it?

Sure! The non-public Fb group is lively and genuinely useful. And Dr. Cabral’s podcast (The Cabral Idea) is an ongoing useful resource that I nonetheless use frequently.

Check out the details here and my code is FITNESSISTA on your low cost

Have questions in regards to the IHP that I didn’t cowl right here? Drop them within the feedback. I learn each single one and am glad to assist!

xo,

Gina

I’ll be updating this put up yearly to replicate any modifications in pricing, curriculum, or program particulars.